This invention relates generally to glucose monitors and, more particularly, to glucose monitors that determine the concentration of glucose in a sample by monitoring fluorescent light produced directly by glucose.
Glucose is a basic organic compound found in living organisms, food, and chemical products, and it is often advantageous to accurately determine the concentration of glucose in a sample. For example, a person having diabetes has lost the ability to produce insulin that regulates the sugar level in their blood. The affected persons must continually receive insulin injections and must regularly monitor the level of glucose in their blood to regulate the timing of the insulin injections. Glucose monitoring of the blood ordinarily requires that a small amount of blood be drawn from the body. Each time the skin of the body is penetrated to draw the blood, there is a risk of infection in addition to an associated buildup of scar tissue. In addition, considerable time is expended in drawing, processing and testing the blood.
Typical methods of determining the concentration of glucose in a sample, such as blood, fall into the categories of aromatic amine methods, enzymatic methods, oxidation methods, and most recently, infrared reflection and absorption spectroscopy. Infrared reflection and absorption spectroscopy in blood generally requires relatively complicated and expensive instrumentation and has limited resolution.
From the discussion above, it should be apparent that there is a need for a glucose monitor that is relatively noninvasive, that is simple and rapid to use, and that provides good resolution. The present invention fulfills these needs.